Grooming stars

Track clubs introduce the sport to kids and help nurture their growth.

April 27, 2008|By Gary Curreri Special Correspondent

FORT LAUDERDALE — S'Kaydrah Woods has lived up to her nickname of Motor.

The 9-year-old Pompano Beach girl, who competes for the Pompano X-Press Track Club, won the 100- and 200-meter dashes, with times of 13.82 and 28.79 seconds respectively, in the Bantam Division at the Fort Lauderdale Invitational track meet at Dillard High School on April 5.

Woods hopes to win another gold medal July 28-Aug. 2 at the AAU Nationals in Detroit.

The Pompano Beach Elementary School fourth-grader won the Bantam Division 100 meters (13.8 seconds) at the 2007 AAU Nationals and was second in the 200 (29.32).

"It's important for me to win races because people count on me," said S'Kaydrah, whose favorite athlete is Sanya Richards, a world-class 400 meters competitor and a former St. Thomas Aquinas High School track standout. "I want to win nationals again. It feels good 'cause I get my name in the newspaper and I was on TV. My classmates said, 'Good job, Motor.' They have been calling me that because I was breaking records when I was 4."

The Pompano X-Press was one of nearly 30 teams that participated in the meet at Dillard. Teams from Pinellas, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, along with the Bahamas, also competed. More than 1,500 athletes, ranging in ages from 4 to 19, competed in the meet that was part of the South Florida Age Group Youth Track and Field series.

The series culminated with its championships at Piper High School on Saturday.

"It's fun to run in this because I get to talk to my friends, and I love the competition," Woods said. "When I run, I feel loose. I can't hear nobody, no crowd, nothing.

"I want to be in the Olympics. It is going to take work, racing with faster people and drinking my water."

Pompano Beach native Tyrone Carter, a defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is helping coach the Pompano X-Press track team and also purchased running bags for everyone on the team. The Broward County School Board also helped with T-shirts for everyone in the program.

Ted Beverly founded the South Florida Age Group Track and Field series in 1977. The athletes are divided into eight groups and the top six places get medals and ribbons. Team standings are not kept.

"They get an opportunity to compete with each other and further their competition," Beverly said. "They enjoy the atmosphere."

Athletes can complete in only four events, including a relay.

There were many strong performances in the meet. Some of them included: Jonathan Barrett (Lauderdale Lakes) won the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:10.72.

Ja'Leah Williams (Pompano Xpress) won the 800-meter run for Primary girls in 3:11.21 and also won the 100-meter dash for Primary girls in 16.25. She took second in the 400-meter dash in the Sub-Bantam Division with a 1:21.74 clocking. Williams completed her day by winning the Primary long jump with a 7-10 jump.

Ashard Allen (Ultimate Track Club) won the 800-meter run for Primary boys in 3:08.20. Cory Parboos (PAL of Hallandale) won the 800-meter run for Intermediate boys in 2:12.67.

Tyrese Allen (Ultimate Track Club) won the Sub-Bantam boys 100-meter dash with a clocking of 14.69, just edging Tremaine Brown (Fort Lauderdale Track Club) who ran a 15.06. Allen also won the 400-meter dash in 1:09.17, and the 200-meter dash for Sub-Bantam boys in 29.92.

Maya Pressley (City of Lauderhill) won the 100-meter dash for Young girls in 12:38.

Adriana Allen (Ultimate Track Club) won the 400-meter dash for Youth girls in 58.22 and the 200-meter in 25.82.

Dan Dantinor (City of Lauderhill) won the 200-meter dash in the Young boys with a 22.25 and also took the 400-meter dash in 49.52. West Pembroke Pines' Jeremy Tatham easily won the Youth boys long jump with a 17-7 leap.

Beverly said many things have changed since the series began more than 30 years ago. "We would finish the meet by noon," Beverly said. "The most we ever had were a couple of hundred runners. Now we start around 9 a.m. and can go as late as 9 at night. We had one heat of the mile relay and now it takes almost an hour just to run the mile relay."

Beverly said it is difficult to secure sponsorships, but cities help defray some of the cost by providing transportation. For information, go to www.youthtrack.net.